Wilson has previously described Ryan as his fiance in parliamentary speeches. So this proposal appears to have been a commitment renewal.

He said to Ryan: “You have had to tolerate more than most because you have had to put up with me … Trust me. This debate has been the soundtrack to our relationship.

“We both know this issue isn’t the reason we got involved in politics, give us tax reform any day. But in my first speech I defined our bond by the ring that sits on both of left hands,. And jthat they are the answer to the question we cannot ask…

“So there’s only one thing left to do. Ryan Patrick Bolger, will you marry me?”

When Bolger responded, “Yes”, Wilson replied: “We’ll chuck that in the memoirs and the Hansard.”

Wilson told the house he realised he was gay when he was 12 years old, and questioned at 18 whether or not he should come out. He said he’s pretty sure now that the “scared 18-year-old kid” he was back then wouldn’t believe that he would be speaking in Parliament today.

He also said that the postal survey had “disregarded parliamentary supremacy, representative democracy, fiscal prudence and free speech.”